Friday, December 5, 2008

Personal computers have revolutionized every aspect of American business and, indeed, American life generally. Though today's heroes of capitalism did not, strictly speaking, invent the modern personal computer, they did more than anyone else to make the concept work.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, working at Hewlett-Packard and Atari respectively, began working together in the Homebrew Computer Club in California. They shared an interest in gadgets and a vision of what computers might do for average people. By 1976, they had perfected their Apple I, a personal computer kit literally hand-made by Wozniak in his garage. By 1977, working to improve their basic design, Jobs and Wozniak introduced the Apple II, a series that would last until 1993, when almost six million had been manufactured and sold. The Apple II became the standard computer in education and in the home, vaulting Apple Computer to the upper echelons of business success.

By 1984, with the introduction of the Macintosh, Jobs and Wozniak again pushed the personal computing envelope by developing the first commercially-successful operating system with a graphical user interface (GUI), thereby bringing computers to the non-programming masses.

Over the years, despite many ups and downs, Jobs and Wozniak have remained involved in the development of literally hundreds of innovations in the industry. When Jobs returned to a struggling Apple in 1997, he re-revolutionized the company, bringing with him the creative and dynamic push that helped Apple to introduce such wildly successful i-series products as the iMac, iPod, and iPhone. Jobs also bought the computer graphics side of LucasFilm and helped guide the newly-named Pixar to industry dominance in animated feature films. After he left full-time work at Apple, Wozniak has been involved in such diverse projects as the development of the first universal remote control, the commercialization of GPS technology, and modern music festivals.

For all that they have done to bring the computer revolution to the masses with style and flair, Jobs and Wozniak are today's heroes of capitalism.